On June 18, 2024, the Parliament of Finland approved a legislative amendment allowing unemployment funds to expand their role. With the amendment in force, funds will be able to offer employment services to their members. Such services may include employment services, counselling and help in finding employment as well as various coaching services.
The Act on Unemployment Funds imposes strict limitations on the role of unemployment funds. Unemployment funds are not allowed to practice any activities other than those specified in the law.
– The legislative amendment provides unemployment funds with the opportunity to offer employment services to their members. In the future, funds will be able to offer labour exchange, information, counselling, expert evaluations, coaching and other corresponding services to their members, says Open Employment Fund’s Service Manager Elina Laine.
– It is quite befitting for us as a fund to be able capitalise on our strengths, such as our cooperation with unions and our strong industry expertise. We have the best understanding of our members’ situation and therefore the ability to act timely. The fund will primarily focus on providing information and counselling services. However, we are not ruling out anything and will definitely listen to our members’ wishes, Laine continues.
The legislative amendment aims to help unemployment fund members find employment and to help those under the threat of unemployment retain their jobs. Employment services offered by the fund will improve its members’ opportunities to find employment quicker, which in turn shortens unemployment periods. These services are available to all members, not just the unemployed or those under the threat of unemployment.
Services provided by unemployment funds are private employment services which supplement public employment and business services. In other words, they are not meant to replace public employment and business services. Services provided by the funds are fully funded by the funds themselves. No public funding is used. Offering the services and using them is optional. Of the specified services, an unemployment fund may choose to offer those it thinks best helps its members.
We at Open Unemployment Fund are closely involved with our members’ unemployment journey. It is fantastic that we can also help them find employment in the future, says Laine.
Service commencement
According to the legislative amendment, funds can offer employment services starting January 1, 2025. Before these legally stipulated services may be offered to members, the employment fund needs to make a rule change. At Open Unemployment Fund A-kassa, this requisite rule change was approved in a fund meeting held on May 30, 2024. A-kassa shall plan and prepare its employment service concept during the summer and the autumn. The new services are implemented and offered from the beginning of the new year.
The Open Unemployment Fund shall later provide information on the services it will be offering its members. The majority of members already have a wide variety of trade union employment services at their disposal.
– A-kassa has always taken pride in offering its members high-quality services efficiently. We shall hold to the same principle with these services so that we can provide our members the best possible support in finding employment. Preparations for offering the services are an important development project for us. We believe it will bring true added value to our members, says Sami Aapro, Head of Unemployment Fund.
